Carmel presents us with flowers in all seasons.
In this column we will always present one of the Carmel flowers, at the same time as it appears in the field, and you will be invited to visit it in one of the places where it blooms.
Common toad
A very thorny perennial plant, 150-60 cm tall. The plant, and especially its flowers, are beautiful to the eye. Long spines protrude from its spherical inflorescences, which look like hedgehog spines, hence the name of the genus. The species is endemic (*) to the Levant (Israel and Syria).
In winter, a rosette of prickly leaves grows, in spring, erect, spiky inflorescence stalks grow. The stem leaves are sessile, prickly, their base embraces the stem, they are divided into narrow, spiky lobes. The underside of the leaf is leathery and whitish, the upper side is glabrous and dark green.
The flowering itself begins in May and lasts until August. Later in the summer, all the above-ground parts of the plant dry out. The flower is tubular, relatively large for the flowers of the complex family. The diameter of the inflorescence ball is 8-5 cm, and the color of the flowers is blue. The spherical inflorescence is actually a large number of spiky flowers grouped together to form a dense ball.
Each flower in a scapula has a double sheath: the outer sheath's sheath's sheaths are leaves with many bristles like a brush, the inner sheath's sheath's sheaths are green, long, stiff, and very sharp spines. They give the inflorescence its spiky appearance. The seed pod is elongated, bearing a short, non-deciduous corolla at its head. The dry scapulae, containing the seeds, remain on the dry plant for a long time, in some cases until winter. Cyperus is common in open areas and open woodland throughout the Mediterranean region.
(*) – The term endemic describes a phenomenon that is limited to a defined geographic area and is not naturally found in other areas.
ID
| family: | Complex. |
| root: | Deep and extensive. |
| height: | 100-60 cm. |
| Leaves: | In winter, a rosette of prickly leaves grows. The leaves are divided several times into green lobes and are pinnate on their undersides. |
| stalk: | In spring, erect, spiky flower stalks grow. |
| rash: | In the summer, mainly in June - July. |
| flower: | |
| The structure of the flower: | The diameter of the dense ball-shaped inflorescence is 8-5 cm, the color of the flowers is blue-purple. Long spikes, resembling hedgehog spines, protrude from the inflorescence. |
| fruit: | An elongated seed pod, bearing a short, non-deciduous crown at its head. The dry seedheads, containing the seeds, remain on the dry plant for a long time, some until the following winter. |
| smell: | The plant has no special smell. |
| nectar: | The plant produces nectar that attracts insects. |
| uses: | The leaves and stems are edible fresh and cooked. |
A place to meet the flower of the week
- Drive from Haifa on Abba Khushi Road – Route 672 heading southeast.
- Immediately after the pedestrian bridge to the university, turn right (south) to the Talalim parking lot.
- Continue about 200 m to the parking lot (located on the left of the road).
- After the parking lot, a paved road begins, go down it (on foot or by car) for about 100 m, until the place where the road turns south (from here there is no more entrance by car).
- Continuing along the footpath, specimens of the Cyperus spp. are blooming on the western side of the path.
If you go to visit the flower with children, you can tell them the legend of the broken egg.
The Legend of the Common Porcupine
In a distant and magical valley, where the sun always smiled and butterflies danced in the air, a special flower grew - the common hedgehog. The hedgehog was not like other flowers. It was not delicate like the rose, nor colorful like the anemone. It was a spiky-looking ball, as if it had disguised itself as a little hedgehog! That's why everyone called it "the hedgehog."
The flowers in the field laughed among themselves:
"Who would want to go near a flower that looks like a hedgehog?" the sage whispered to Savyon.
"He must be very stingy," the daisy grinned.
The kipuden didn't listen. He was patient and nice, and at night he would listen to the stars singing.
But he always dreamed of the day when he would find a true friend who wouldn't be afraid of him.
One day, a little girl named Noa arrived in the field. She used to look for special flowers for the bouquet she collected every Saturday for her mother. As she approached the kifodan, she stopped. "Oh! What a strange flower!" she whispered to herself. She wanted to touch it, but was afraid of the thorns. Then a light breeze blew - the kifodan trembled gently and from within it a little bee bloomed for her, singing softly: "These are not thorns, this is a special hug. Only those who dare to get close will discover the secret."
Noa smiled. She reached out gently, touched the flower – and discovered that the “thorns” were actually petals that were a little hard, but not particularly prickly.
"You are a beautiful and brave flower!" she said to him, "you keep to yourself but are also open to the world."
She carefully picked Kipoden (after asking his permission, of course), and placed him in the middle of the bouquet.
And all the other flowers – even the rose and the marigold – looked at the kifodan in wonder. Since then, every summer, children have been looking for the kifodan. Not because it is the most beautiful, but because it has a heart of gold… hidden in a thorny embrace.